IVF Diary Part 2: The Initial Consultation

This is Part 2 of the IVF Diary series. I’ll be keeping a diary of all important IVF days, starting from when we first chose to undergo infertility treatment in Prague. Click here to read all other IVF diary posts.

Ground Zero of our first IVF consultation: our laptop.

After contacting the clinic 2.5 weeks ago, we patiently waited for our Skype handle to be called for our IVF consultation. Naturally, when our phone didn’t ring at exactly 8.30 AM, we flipped out and cursed their names like any rational person would do. Finally, 3 whole minutes past our scheduled appointment time, the doctor called. Took ‘em long enough!

Dress for success

Can you tell we were a bit nervous? I left out the part where I stood in front of my closet and tried on three sets of clothes before I settled on something I felt made me look utmost representable and an overall excellent IVF candidate for their clinic. Do you know what the perfect IVF candidate looks like? Neither do I, but hey, I tried!

Even Mr. Frugalcrib changed up his usual attire of old worn out t-shirts with even older shorts, to a polo shirt with slightly newer shorts.

Remembering your part

Beforehand, we’d already discussed who would do most of the question-answering and who would do most of the question-asking. You see, we have a tendency to talk at the exact same time when asked a question.

We agreed that Mr. Frugalcrib would answer most of their questions, and I would ask our questions. I did remind my dear husband that if they’d ask a question like “when was your last period” I would be the one answering that, you know, to avoid any confusion.

I had printed off a set of at least a dozen questions that we brainstormed the night before.

As fate had already determined, when the doctor was done introducing herself and asked how long we’ve been trying to conceive, we both answered right at the same time. Oops. “Sorry, you go”, “No, you go”. This happened at least three times after which I finally remembered my part and shut up.

I bet it would have gone a lot smoother if we had just winged it instead.

Round One: The first 30 minutes

The doctor and the IVF coordinator were both there on the other side of the camera and looked far less awkward than we did, sitting next to each other while kicking one another’s legs under the table. The IVF coordinator acted as a translator for some of the more technical things the doctor discussed, which was really helpful.

We talked about our medical history, how I’d been tracking my ovulation, the results of our infertility tests and much more. They explained what the timeline usually looks like, when I could expect my protocol, what kind of meds I’d probably be on and after about half an hour, they were winding down the conversation and asked if we had any questions.

Oh, we paid for a full hour right? And I whipped out the printed list of questions I had prepared.

Round Two: The interrogation

So… what do you think of the size of my uterus? Is it too small? Small isn’t good right? You want it to be nice and big?

Uhh, it’ll stretch, don’t worry.

Hmm okay, what about the size of my ovaries? Is it normal for one to be bigger than the other?

Yes, it varies due to a number of follicles growing in there…

And what about my endometrial lining? …

So after the doctor was done explaining and politely asked if I had any non-size-related questions, I moved on to grill the doctor about their success rates, how they prevent ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), what kind of follow-ups they offer during the stimulation protocol etc.

Saying our goodbyes

After about an hour, we felt like the poor doctor went through enough, and finally said the words they were longing to hear; No further questions.

In all fairness, they were patient with us (more so than we were while waiting for them to call us) and answered all of our questions without making us feel like they were in a rush, something that many other doctors can take a cue from.

They said it usually takes about a week after the consult to receive the IVF protocol, which includes the Rx’s for the meds, when to take ‘em etc. But in the next post, I’ll tell you more about how our patience was tested once again…

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